MONTECRISTO
Montecristo is Dumas’s count, but it also is a tiny island in the Tuscan Arcipelago (the smaller sister of the famous Elba) famous for being a natural reserve, and for hosting several ruins including the bewitching Fortress of Montecristo. We were thinking about an old mansion, and the smell of the thick walls – along with the cozy, and unpretentious at once, ambience one may expect from a hideaway living-room – made us think about the name Montecristo.
Montecristo was the second fragrance launched in the Opera collection. It was created by Delphine Thierry, which is also the nose behind the creation of Terralba. It is the only case, in our scented Opera Collection, in which a nose was appointed with the creation of two fragrances. With Delphine we played a game of opposites: the energising and invigorating atmosphere of a Mediterranean seaside sunrise, and the intimate eventide ambience of an old mansion in the Tuscan countryside.
In perfume reviews, Montecristo is praised for many reasons: the expertly rendered textures of the perfume, the conjuring of well-trodden wood and leather, the tawny swirl of rum in crystal glass, the chocolatey patchouli and of course the scent of tobacco. Delphine has used a good dose of ambrette seed, you can really smell it, powdered, earthen and musky in the opening stages, under the haze of sweet dry smoke. Ambrette is a beautiful perfume note. It has clarity and cleanliness, often adding a gentle underscore of nuts and cold wax on white lily buds. Interestingly in Montecristo it brings light and peace.
 
Head Notes: Cabreuva, Ambrette Seeds, Rum.
Heart Notes: Tobacco Leaves, Celery Seeds, Cistus, Benzoin.
Base Notes: Golden Stone, Styrax Gum, Gaiac Wood, Cedar Wood, Patchouli.